Much to the relief of league and club executives, the long off-season is over and the idle hands of players will finally be filled by footballs.

The salary cap has been given an upgrade and another host of rule changes to be introduced in 2014 will give the fans a faster, safer game with more action.

Expect some teething problems with cannonballs, crushers and scorpion tackles and plenty of fines and reprimands as officials attempt to crack down on time wasting.

Grandstand has run the rule over the teams and predicted who will be the team to beat in this year's race for the Provan Summons trophy.

With so much congestion, we had to find a way to cover ourselves if some of our predictions went horribly wrong so we've broken the 16 teams into three tiers: Contenders (teams with legitimate title aspirations), Hopefuls (teams who will be fighting for finals places) and Cellar dwellers (teams set to battle to avoid the wooden spoon).

The Roosters returned to premiership glory in 2013 and there is nothing to suggest they won't be knocking on the door again this year.

The premiers will field an almost identical side to the one that lifted the title last season, with forwards Martin Kennedy and Luke O'Donnell the only notable absentees.

They added the necessary weapons to their side last off-season, picking up Sonny Bill Williams, James Maloney and Michael Jennings and they should only continue to go from strength-to-strength this season.

Statistics back up the fact the Roosters were the benchmark team of 2013, as they averaged the most points scored per game (26.3), the fewest points conceded per game (13.2), most tackle breaks per game (31.1), least number of line-breaks conceded per game (2.8) and had a record six shut-outs of opposition teams.

This season is more about other teams coming up to the Roosters' standards and their win over Wigan in the World Club Challenge proves they will be the team to beat.

Cameron's call: This season is similar to last year where the Roosters and Rabbitohs appear the standouts on paper, but a lot of funny things can happen during the season. Will the Roosters have a premiership hangover? Their opponents will be hoping so or they will remain the team to chase.

What can you say about a team that has been one of the league's best through the last seven years? They're very, very good.

Unlike a myriad of lesser teams, Manly weathered an ugly split from its coach and the resulting front-office brawl in the wake of the 2011 grand final victory and barely broke stride. Geoff Toovey replaced his former mentor in Des Hasler and kept the team chugging along, leading it to the grand final in his sophomore season in charge.

Fresh off last year's grand final loss, the Sea Eagles have every reason to think they can go one better this season on the back of essentially the same 17 men.

The Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans combination is unequivocally the best in the league and, since Greg Inglis returned to full-back, Jamie Lyon has grabbed the mantle of the league's best centre with both hands (dare to dream Blues fans).

The forward pack has lost a bit of bite after losing 2008 Clive Churchill-medallist Brent Kite and cult hero George Rose from their prop ranks in the off-season. But with Anthony Watmough, Glenn Stewart, Matt Ballin, Jason "Hopefully I can stay fit for a season" King and the emerging Brenton Lawrence still on the books, their superstar backline (also boasting freakish finishers like Brett Stewart and Jorge Taufua) has plenty of time and space to work.

Jon's call: The 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013 grand finalists are yet to win an NRL minor premiership and I was very close to having them breaking that duck in 2014. I was talked down but if the Roosters hit any speed bumps the Eagles will be ready to swoop.

South Sydney is edging closer and closer to the title that has eluded them since 1971 and 2014 may just be the year the drought is broken.

The Rabbitohs have lost the last two preliminary finals, finished third at the end of the regular season in 2012 and second last year, missing out on the minor premiership by points differential.

They have been relatively quiet in the player market, with Joel Reddy, Lote Tuqiri and Joe Picker their most significant acquisitions.

One possible negative for the Rabbitohs is the fact they have lost a chunk of experience with Matt King and Mick Crocker retiring, while Roy Asotasi has headed to the English Super League.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle facing the Rabbitohs in 2014 is how much disruption is caused by Sam Burgess' impending departure to rugby union.

If his move from the club doesn't prove a distraction then the Rabbitohs should be right in the thick of the action throughout the month of September.

Cameron's call: The Rabbitohs would be kicking themselves after failing to at least feature in the premiership decider last year. They will again be among the front-runners and could feature in the final game of the season as there appears very little separating the top three sides.

The Storm have essentially been on the same NRL trajectory as the Eagles since 2006 and that looks set to continue in 2014. There are, however, a few mitigating factors that will stop the Melbourne men from climbing the mountain again.

The five-eighth spot is a serious concern with Queensland junior Ben Hampton set to fill the void left by Gareth Widdop's departure. The 22-year-old scored two tries on debut in 2013 and showed plenty in his two outings last year. The Storm also have a knack for bringing class players through under their established stars (see: James Maloney, Nathan Friend, Ryan Hinchcliffe) and Hampton will learn plenty playing alongside the reigning Dally M medallist Cooper Cronk.

Props Bryan Norrie and Jesse Bromwich (one of whom should have won the 2012 Clive Churchill medal) are back for another season. While representative veteran Ryan Hoffman and Tohu Harris (a World Cup player if not for a sudden change of heart from Sonny Bill Williams) will continue to provide excellent service from the back row.

The 'Big Three' of Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater (along with coach Craig Bellamy) guarantees a place in the finals at the very least but fatigue could be set to take its toll on the star players. Since the start of the 2006 season Smith has played 248 games (179 NRL, 23 Origin, 37 Tests), Cronk's played 233 (200, 12, 21) and Slater, for whom injuries are a serious concern for the first time in his career, played 220 (179, 17, 24). That includes seven trips to the finals, five grand finals and one exhausting season played for no points.

Those numbers are far and away the most of any of the representative stars (Johnathan Thurston has played 215 in the same period, Paul Gallen 194, Jarryd Hayne 183 and Luke Lewis 153) and that amount of football will eventually catch up with them. The big question is: When?

Jon's call: The Storm just keep on rolling on and are always a chance to climb past fourth but they may be just off the pace set by Easts, Souths and Manly. Hampton has looked the goods in his brief forays into the top flight and also look for a big year from giant 22-year-old Jordan McLean.

The Warriors will put season 2013 down as one of missed opportunities.

After losing eight of their first 10 games, the Warriors flew home to win nine of their last 14, falling just one win short of a top-eight berth.

The Warriors haven't been big movers in the off-season player market but, in fairness, they didn't need to be.

The off-season pick-up of Sam Tomkins ranks as one of the most significant in the competition. At 24, Tomkins has already been crowned Super League's best player, represented his country 19 times, scored 144 tries in 150 appearances for Wigan and been dubbed the English Billy Slater.

Throw him in with the likes of Shaun Johnson, Konrad Hurrell, Kevin Locke, Thomas Leuluai and Manu Vatuvei and the Warriors' backline shapes as one of the most dangerous in the NRL.

While they have lost Russell Packer from their forward pack, the Warriors still contain the size that concerns their rivals, as well as the likes of Feleti Mateo, who on his day ranks as one of the competition's best ball-playing forwards.

Cameron's call: As a consensus, we have the Warriors finishing fifth, but it wouldn't surprise to see them in the top four with the line-up of talent at their disposal. Then again, it's the Warriors and sometimes you never know what you're going to get, so it also wouldn't surprise to see them watching the September action from the sidelines again.

After finishing eighth last season, the Cowboys were bundled out of the play-offs in the opening week in controversial circumstances when the Sharks scored off a seven-tackle set.

They let full-back Matt Bowen go at the end of last season but looked to have a ready-made replacement in Lachlan Coote. That was until Coote ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament at the NRL Nines, requiring a full knee reconstruction.

How well the Cowboys can recover from the loss of Coote could be a major factor in their season, but it is hard to write off a side that possesses the world's best player in Johnathan Thurston and arguably the two best props in the game in James Tamou and Matt Scott.

The Cowboys will be hoping the addition of the club's first piece of silverware from the Nines will propel them to a strong start in 2014. Last season, they had won just four games by the halfway mark of the season.

Expect them to figure prominently in the top eight again this season and with a bit of luck they could go deep into September.

Cameron's call: The loss of Coote is a major blow to the Cowboys. They still possess enough talent to capitalise on the work Thurston does around the field and should feature in the eight again.

No-one ever went broke betting on Wayne Bennett but Newcastle's 2014 season will stretch the supercoach's powers to the absolute extremes.

The Knights fell just one game short of a grand final berth last year courtesy of career-best seasons from Jarrod Mullen, Tyrone Roberts and James McManus. They ultimately copped a pasting from the eventual premiers in the preliminary final but there were signs of life from the Novocastrians.

After the joy of a stellar season, the football gods then decided to hand them one of the worst off-seasons in the history of rugby league as new signing Russell Packer, veteran prop Willie Mason, young back-rower Zane Tetevano and front-office man Ben Rogers all had trouble with the law.

That could all be put to one side once the players hit the pitch, but the loss of star five-eighth Mullen, who tore his hamstring off the bone at the Auckland Nines, will leave Newcastle seriously short for the first four months of the season.

In addition to being without Mullen for the majority of the season, the retirement of club great Danny Buderus and the loss of impact forward Neville Costigan will severely damage any chance of a repeats of 2013.

Jon's call: The Knights rode a wave of emotion for the retirement of Buderus to the preliminary finals last year. Seventh was where they belonged and without Mullen for most of the season, they won't improve on that.

The NRL's findings on the club's supplements program were handed down in December but appeals by suspended coach Shane Flanagan and trainer Trent Elkin are still being dragged out and will spill over into the start of the season.

Sharks assistant coach Peter Sharp will take the reins for the early stages of the season at least with the distraction of Flanagan's appeal and ASADA's imminent findings looming over the team.

If they can somehow remain focused on what's happening on the field, the playing list including representative forwards Paul Gallen, Andrew Fifita and Luke Lewis plus star backs like resurgent five-eighth Todd Carney and point-scoring machine Michael Gordon is good enough to compete with the best of the league.

The constant spectre of ASADA and the loss of exciting young forwards Jason Bukuya and Tyrone Peachey will keep the Sharks out of the top tier, but if they can handle the off-field distractions as well as they did last year, they should be finals-bound.

Jon's call: The Sharks (not the Sharkies) bounced around our ladder predictions but they were always sitting on the bubble of the seventh, eighth and ninth spots. They overcame plenty last year but off-field issues are rarely a good sign for a team striving for success.

The Broncos have their work cut out for them to make the eight this season. After a franchise-worst year of having almost no fifth-tackle options with a couple of former representative halves in Scott Prince and Peter Wallace, Brisbane has 'upgraded' to a halves pairing of Ben Hunt and TBA.

Coach Anthony Griffin seems to be banking on Hunt fulfilling his NYC Player of the Year potential from six years ago despite showing only flashes of solid play when given his shot at half-back last season.

The five-eighth spot is an even bigger concern with Griffin seemingly looking to fill it with a mixture of the underage Kodi Nikorima and/or the untested Zach Strasser in the absence of the perpetually unfit Jordan Kahu. Not exactly Langer and Lewis.

Of course, the off-season moves the Broncos made can't be ignored. Ben Barba is the biggest off-season NRL signing in recent memory. Despite a down season last year with injuries and personal problems hampering him, Barba showed enough at the back end of 2013 to suggest he can recapture something on or near his 2012 Dally M medal-winning form. Talk of him being shifted to the number six to sure up the gaping chasm in the halves could put the kibosh on that as his form in the playmaking role throughout his career thus far has looked sporatic at best.

Martin Kennedy could be an even bigger game changer for the toothless Broncos pack. His arrival from the champion Sydney Roosters was accompanied by a drug scandal but, if he can steer clear of that, should do wonders for the form of Sam Thaiday, now unburdened by captaincy, as it allows him to slip back to the second row.

Jon's call:If the forwards can bend defences back regularly, if hooker Andrew McCullough (who looks like he's played his best football already) can take advantage, if Barba rediscovers his form and if the 31-year-old Justin Hodges can return from his torn Achilles early and in strong form ... It still probably won't be enough to overcome a serious lack of composure and experience in the halves.

The Panthers have been one of the big movers in the off-season player market but will it be enough to lift them into the finals? Maybe not.

Of their major off-season signings, halves pairing Peter Wallace and Jamie Soward, prop Brent Kite and centre Jamal Idris have all been down on form in recent seasons. Let's be honest, none of the clubs they left seemed too upset to see them go.

Wallace and Soward have been vocal in the fact they have a point to prove at the Panthers and if they can lift and find the form that saw them selected for State of Origin duty in the past, then anything is possible.

The Panthers also waded into the player market prior to 2013 and recruited the likes of James Segeyaro, Lewis Brown, Wes Naiqama and Sika Manu. Those players combined with this season's intake makes them a formidable line-up.

The Panthers were another one of the slow starters last season, winning just two of their first eight games, before finishing one win outside the top eight.

Cameron's call: The Panthers have made some significant additions to their line-up but the concern remains their halves combination. We're expecting them to finish just outside the eight but if their halves rediscover their best form the Panthers may well see finals' action.

The Bulldogs are one of the most confusing teams in the NRL. They were a long way from the form that carried them to the 2012 grand final as they dealt with injuries and suspensions galore in 2013.

Without props James Graham and Sam Kasiano, the driving forces behind their grand final push, the Bulldogs struggled to get going in the first 10 weeks off the competition. When 2012 Dally M Prop of the Year Kasiano did finally return from injury, he was out of shape and never rediscovered his best form. Graham also fell victim to a form slump after coming back from his suspension for biting Billy Slater in the grand final, leaving Canterbury short of its much-needed go-forward up front.

The allegedly revolutionary, but really just old school, style of play introduced by coach Des Hasler upon arrival in Belmore fell flat last year as teams appeared to have learned how to shut it down. The quick passing from Graham and his fellow forwards looked far less crisp as sophisticated defences figured out ways to stop them.

They lost half-back Kris Keating but the biggest absence will be that of star full-back Ben Barba. They looked a far better side last season when the attacking powerhouse was in their line-up even if he was below his best. New Zealand international Sam Perrett will probably take over at the back although Josh Morris showed glimpses of brilliance when filling in throughout last year.

In the NRL, teams have to adapt to survive and the underwhelming form of the Bulldogs in 2013 will have fans of the boys in blue and white worried for this year.

Jon's call: Obviously the biggest slider of 2014. They looked ordinary at the start of last year sans Graham and Kasiano and exited tamely against the Knights in the first week of the finals. Expect small things this year.

Since the excitement of their early years and reaching the preliminary finals in 2010, the beach boys have been wallowing outside the eight for the last three seasons. The positive progression of last-11th-ninth is probably cold comfort for fans of the Gold Coast but they should have taken it while it lasted because things may not get much better in 2014.

The forward pack can match it with any others in the league with State of Origin stars Nate Myles, Greg Bird and Ashley Harrison leading the charge. On top of that, the Titans will be hoping man mountain Ryan James can take a leap in form after enjoying the best season of his short career in 2013. The issue, as it is with big brothers Brisbane, is their dummy-half Matt Srama, while capable, simply doesn't seem able to properly read the game and take the ultimate advantage of good forward play.

The biggest game-changer could very well be sitting on the bench for most of the season. If Dave Taylor, the NRL's undisputed heavyweight champion when it comes to unfulfilled potential, can play to even 75 per cent of what he's capable they could improve on our predicted 12th.

However, stripped of Jamal Idris, a prospective back five of William Zillman, Kevin Gordon, Maurice Blair, Brad Tighe and David Mead is unlikely to set the world on fire and adding Steve Michaels to that group doesn't do wonders for their outlook.

Staring down the barrel of a fourth consecutive season outside the finals, under-pressure coach John Cartwright will be hoping halves Aidan Sezer and Albert Kelly can continue their growth into top-class playmakers and carry this team out of the doldrums.

Jon's call: Coach Cartwright did just enough to avoid the sack last year but 2014 should be his final chance if (read: when) the Titans fail to make the eight.

Controversies involving their biggest stars were constantly hitting the side with Blake Ferguson, Josh Dugan, Josh Papalii and Anthony Milford all buying a ticket on the bad publicity train at one point in the season.

The awful season ultimately led to a player uprising against then-coach David Furner and, despite calls from the senior group for him to be replaced by under-20s maestro Andrew Dunneman, the success-starved Ricky Stuart was called home.

Finally out of the outlandishly terrible year that was 2013, it's hard to believe things could get any worse for Canberra, but they don't look likely to drastically improve either..

The forward pack (despite losing useful backrowers Joel Thompson and Joe Picker) with David Shillington and Josh Papalii leading the charge and Josh McCrone controlling the ruck, backed by a hopefully fit and firing Terry Campese, will keep the side from the bottom completely.

The Anthony Milford saga is over but his imminent departure will be a frustrating storyline for Stuart and his new charges over 2014 as they fight to avoid the wooden spoon with the Dragons, Tigers and Eels.

Jon's call: The Raiders lost a lot last year and haven't picked up anything in the off-season that suggests they have the weapons to cover their losses after an awful year.

The Dragons have failed to reach the finals for the last two seasons and it is difficult to see anything changing this year.

Injuries did not help the Dragons' cause in 2013, as they ploughed through 30 players on their way to recording just seven wins and a 14th-placed finish.

The recruitment of Gareth Widdop from Melbourne is a coup for the club, but he may struggle with a lack of talent around him with at least eight regular first graders departing at the end of 2013.

Steve Price remains favourite to be the first coach shown the door in 2014 and a slow start will surely cost him his job.

Cameron's call: It's safe to say the Dragons will go a third year without reaching the finals. They will need a miracle to feature in the top eight and are more likely to have a new coach before season's end than to play finals.

The Eels have successfully accumulated back-to-back wooden spoons and it's hard to see things improving dramatically for them in 2014.

Ricky Stuart left the club in disarray when he tore the playing roster apart before walking out on his contract and joining Canberra at the end of the season.

So it's a new coach in Brad Arthur who is tasked with rebuilding the competition's worst team. Those in the know suggest Arthur is one of the best defensive coaches in the game and that is exactly what the Eels need, having conceded 740 points in 2013.

They have picked up England international Lee Mossop, although injury means he won't start the season, while former State of Origin winger Will Hopoate returns from his two-year religious mission.

The Eels will be hoping the big money they have spent on half-back Chris Sandow begins to pay off in 2014, while hoping Broncos recruit Corey Norman can live up to the raps he had on him early in his career. It may, however, be unfair to expect too much from a player who finished 2013 playing in the Queensland Cup.

Cameron's call: Because of the mess left behind by Stuart, it is really hard to see the Eels moving too far up the ladder. Eels fans should see 2014 as a success if they can indentify some across-the-board improvement and any indication things are about to turn the corner in coming seasons. That would be a step up on the one-year Stuart reign.